Wild Bamboo Orchids...again...

This will be the second time I have posted about the bamboo orchids that grow wild in Puna Hawaii, but they are so prevalent and so pretty! I just get a tickle out of seeing fields of these lovely "exotic" flowers growing wild :)

They seem to prefer more open land and land that has good drainage, I have seen them happily growing in basically lava rock. There is quite a variety as well, some are almost completely white, a few have the entire neck in purple and occasionally you find a color variation, like more blue to the purple or more red. And they are available for purchase through http://gardenexotica.com/products.htm

Double Rainbow over Hilo Hawaii...

Double Rainbow over Hilo Hawaii...

I opened the door of my home early yesterday morning on my way to go paddle canoes in Hilo Bay and stopped dead in my tracks! There was this gorgeous, super bright, double rainbow filling up the sky! My husband quickly got a shot of it with his Palm Treo but it doesn't come close to showing how truly INTENSE the rainbow was. I was in Western Colorado during the Mount Saint Helens explosion and we had some incredible rainbows then (Like a Green one?) but this was extra special :)

Red Hibiscus...

Some times you see something so intense it just grabs and holds your attention...the red of this Hibiscus was so striking against the deep green of the Hawaiian jungle that I just had to take a shot :) This Hibiscus lives in Fern Acres, a subdivision in the Puna District of the Big Island of Hawaii.

Aloha Braddah! Hung Kei Fat Choy! Celebrating the Chinese New Year in Hawaii

Aloha Braddah! Hung Kei Fat Choy! I heard this today while at the Chinese New Year festival in downtown Hilo, classic Hawaiian pidgin greeting with a traditional Chinese prosperous new year wish :) 

While watching the Keiki contest I noted again and again the incredible mix of races in Hawaii, especially in the keiki. As each child came on stage the announcer would read out the racial background (can you imagine that happening anywhere else?), for example... "this is little Kylia, she is 4 years old and she is Hawaiian, Chinese, Puerto Rican, Scottish, German and Chocataw Indian." Next child, "This is Brendan, he is 5 and is Portuguese, Korean, Irish and Tahitian", now the names have been changed but most often it was 4 or more nationalities and each child was cuter than the last. So sweet and well behaved. As with all children there where plenty of antics but no real misbehaving and the audience seemed to really enjoy the character of each child.

The group that struck my heart the most was the children of old neighbor of mine, she and her husband had adopted two little girls from China about 5-6 years ago, and are raising them to continue speaking their native tongue, as well as Hawaiian, English, Spanish and American sign language. And I had a hard time teaching my kids to be understandable in one language! A few years ago they had added a little boy from China to their family group and it was amazing to see how he had grown and how much more confident he is in only one year.

This face painter had set up a booth at the festival and she was the best advertisement for her art there could be, had a line 5-6 deep and was turning out the neatest face paint on the kids. Not your traditional unicorns and rainbows at this face paint booth!

Mauna Loa Ginger...

This unique and exotic looking ginger variety loves to grow in a area of the Big Island near the town of Volcano called Mauna Loa Estates... Hawaii has so many varities of Ginger! And each is more interesting than the last <3

Lovely Fern in Nanawale Estates Hawaii...

With my job I get out into the country alot! I mean a whole lot (Lucky me!) and I take bunches of photos for selling real estate, sometimes I luck out and a photo taken for my business will be so striking it can do double duty for my hobby :)

This Fern was growing on a vacant land lot in Nanawale Estates (Near Pahoa Village on the Big Island), the sun came through the Ohia trees just right and poof! Magic time! 

Lucky I live Hawaii :)

Gecko Brothers...

This little guy was hanging out in my conference room the other day, wonder if he thinks the "Big Gecko" will protect him? He really wanted to stay with him... we have lots & lots of geckos in Hawaii. On the Big Island there are two primary types, we call them Kona geckos (west side and I think they are actually Madagascar day geckos?) and Hilo geckos or Blond geckos. The Kona geckos are bright green with blue, red, etc... very colorful. The Hilo geckos are like this guy, very washed out or "Blond". But... the Hilo geckos change their coloration to suit the environment, kind of like a Chameleon but not as dramatic, they also have a geometric pattern along the spine which they can darken to stand out or lighten to be unnoticeable. They usually just get lighter or darker and can range from grey to brown in hue. They are very timid by nature and love to lay eggs behind switch plate covers. The Kona geckos are much more aggressive and have been known to EAT there Hilo brethren, blech! I found two eggs on top of my bag of chicken feed the other morning and I have them in a tea cup in my window sill so they can hatch, I will try to post pictures if I catch them in the act. :))

Lovely Hawaiian Ginger...

This lovely Ginger is growing in Hawaiian Acres in the Puna district, not far from Hilo... Most people are familiar with ginger from their ginger bread or ginger snap cookies, but most varieties of ginger either can not be eaten or have little if any flavor. But they do have some spectacular blooms and striking foliage!

The drive from Keaau to Volcano is lined with patches of White Ginger, Yellow Ginger and Kahili Ginger...the aroma is fantastic! Makes for a lovely drive...

My Hawaii Kitty Cat!

This is my kitty...she is so soft! As far as we can tell, she is a Siamese mix...we picked her up at the Hilo Famers Market back on 2003 from a family giving away kittens on the sidewalk. Since she is a Hawaiian Kitty she doesn't mind the rain and often comes in the house completely soaked! Because she is Siamese she can be a little, well...umm, Crazy. The kids call her "sketch" because she jumps at things that aren't there and goes all twitchy for no obvious reason. I tell them she sees with cat eyes and hears with cat ears, and while those are things we can not see or hear that doesn't mean they aren't there. That usually freaks them out for about 10 minutes... she is also the most affectionate cat ever! Loves the laps. The other day the family was watching a movie and we were all in non lap conducive positions...she stood in front of the TV and cried until one of us provided a lap, she immediately took advantage and slept the next two hours in my sons lap...and she complained loudly every time he tried to move! Oh yeah... her name is C.A.T. say it out loud as you spell it... sounds like See A Tee ;))

Lush & Exotic Hawaiian Ferns?

Aren't these exotic & lush looking? Can't you just imagine them growing around a cool & shady waterfall, deep in the rainforest just waiting for you to relax on their aromatic comfort? Well... you probably wouldn't want to do that if you hoped to have any carrots for your carrot cake! Yep that's what they are...not some lovely tropical fern thriving in the jungles of Hawaii, just plain old straightforward carrots growing in a raised bed in my front garden ;)) Isn't it funny how our perspective changes? Sometimes we just need to look at the same old things with new eyes to see the beauty that was always there...

Ok, enough with the musings...yes we grow carrots in Hawaii, I grow mine in raised beds about 3 feet off the ground. Having them raised so high has pros & cons, some of the cons are that my space becomes limited to containers I can purchase or build and the load bearing of normal materials (2 X 4's etc...), and I have to stay on top of the watering as they run out much quicker than plants in the actual ground. Some of the pros are that the raised bed is much more accessible (no bending to weed or harvest), the wild pigs have a harder time destroying my crops and the slugs are much easier to control. Also weeding is almost non existent & it is very easy to amend the soil & fertilize, I don't seem to loose as much of the additives now. All in all it is a success, about 70%-80% of our vegies and all of the fresh herbs are coming from my little garden, & that really helps with the grocery bill!

Man Gets Eaten By Big Screen!

My new office is almost complete!!!

It is located in downtown Hilo and just last night the big screen for the conference room was installed (it looks like poor Scott was eaten by the screen! We warned him about playing to much video games!), Standing is John Petrella (the Principle Broker & Owner of Local Hawaii Real Estate), Larkin Hathaway is to the left offering her support (A agent & she is actually enjoying a good laugh at Scott and Johns expense), Galyn Williams (a agent and the person responsible for the gorgeous remodel on this office space) is just behind John and Scott (right out of the frame, oh well), and yours truly, Trevella Williams (Also a agent), is behind the camera where I prefer to be...

We are so very excited to be moving into our new office...I will post a photo when we are all moved in.

I just can't wait!